Casket placer



J1me Q??? J. R. BRADY 2295,57

CASKET ILACER Filed. Nov. 18, 1957 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 H M /7 I A? I /I I 2.1 2] 7 BY \f/f ErililLENTOR ATTORNEY.

D A R B R I GASKET PLACER Filed Nov. 18, 1957 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENT OR.

BY Era c/y u /MM ATTORNEY.

I I I l l I Patented June 18, 1940 PATENT OFFICE CASKET PLACER James R.Brady, Marion, Ohio, assignor to The Marion Metal Products Company, Marion,

Ohio, a corporation. of Ohio 1 Application November 18, 1937, Serial No. 175,262

7' Claims.

This invention relates to casket placers and particularly to the combination with,a casket lowering device, which may be of usual construction, of suitable members adapted to be supported by longitudinal elements of the casket, lowering device or other suitable supports whereby to support a casket above an open grave during services and before persons attending a funeral haveleft. v

'To my knowledge it has occurred that when pallbearers were carrying a casket to its position above the open grave, the'ground at'the edgeof the grave has given way with the result that a pallbearer has ac-tually'fallen into an opengrave. Accordingly, it is an object of my invention to render it unnecessary for the pallbearers to walk alongside the grave and to make it possible for them to bring the casket up to a point where one end projects slightly over an end'of the open grave and thereafter toslide the casket to final position.

i The foregoing and J'ects are realized in other and more limited oband through the device hereinafter described and illustrated in the accompanying drawings wherein'Fig. 1 is a diagrammatic view showing the essentials of one type of casket lowering mechanism in place above an open grave together with a series of placers according to my invention resting onthe side bars of such lowering device; Fig. 2 is a side view ,of one of my casket placers showing the sidebars of the casket loweringdevice in section, the remainder of such casket lowering de-' vice being'omitted; Fig. 3 is a plan view of .a placer according to my invention; Fig. 4 is a section on the line 4-4 of Fig. 3;.Fig. 5 is a section on the line 5-5 of Fig. 4; Fig. 6 is a longitudinal vertical section taken through .a somewhati modified form of my invention and show,- ing means for braking the rollers to prevent motion of the casket in the event the casket lowering device might not be-level or inthe event an accidental push were given to the casket; Fig. '7 is a plan view of a modified form of the invention incorporating braking means adapted to engage the casket to prevent motion thereof transverse to the axes of the rollers; Fig.8 is 'a side'vie'w, partly in elevation and partly .in section ,'ofthe device shown in plan in Fig.7; Fig. 9 is a' fragmentary'section corresponding substantially to the line 9-9 of Fig.7; Fig. 10 is a transverse section on the line lU-y-IO-of Fig, 7; and Fig. 11 is a section corresponding substantially to the line Illl of Fig. 9.

Referring now to the drawings, the numerals l0 and II indicate respectively the longitudinal andv transverse elements of a conventional casket lowering device. The bars H] are supported in bearings l2 carried by and superposed upon the elements II and are rotatable in such bearings. Conventional means (not shown) are provided for preventing rotation of the elements ill except when rotation thereof is desired and means for rotating such elements at a desired speed for W lowering the casket. wound on the elements Ill so that by rotation of such elements they may be lengthened for lowering the casket into the grave or for supporting avvault base below thecasket prior to lowering. I

. According to my invention, casket placers indicated generally by the numeral M are placed transversely of the elements It and rest thereon for supporting a casket independently of the straps l3. with notches IE on its under surface, one at each end. "These notchesreceive the elements it, as'indicated in Fig. 2 and are somewhat elongated so as to be useful with lowering devices Flexible straps, l3 are Eachof the elements It isprovidedli? of the weight being 3 beams and to mount the roller assemblies in openings in the web portion of the while forming the notches of. In order to prevent undesirable noise' I preferto line the notches IS. with rubber liners ll. The roller assemblies comprise plates l8 having central openings l9 and downturned cars 26 at the ends of such openings, such ears-being preferably turned out from the metal within the outline of such openings Said ears 20 are provided with openings'Zl receiving trunnions 22 of the rollers Hi. The plates eted, welded or otherwise secured to the web of the beam I4.

In Fig. 6, I have shown of my invention which described form in that I venting motion of the rollers has been placed in position. prises a cam segment 23 pivoted at the flanges of the channel beam l4. engaging face 25 of the cam segment a slightly modified form diiiers from the above provide a brake for pre- I 6 after the casket This brake com- 24 between The roller channel beam 3" l5 in the flanges there- !8 are preferably riv-.

is eccen- 5 tric so as to look as it is rotated clockwise and to unlock as it is rotated counter-clockwise. Also pivoted between the flanges of the beam I4 is a foot lever 26 extending through an opening 21 in the web of the channel beam. A link 28 connects the lever 26 with the cam segment 23 whereby the device may be operated to lock the rollers l6 by stepping on the foot piece 29 of the lever 26 and may be unlocked by lifting such lever. In Fig. 6 I have shown a second link 30 which it is to be understood connects with a second cam segment similar to that 23 and which.

cam segment operates on a second roller.

In Figs. 7 to 11 inclusive I have shown a modifled form which is identical with thefirst described form except for the provision of a casket engaging brake or holding means between the rollers in the case of one or more of the devices to be used in a set. In this form 'a plate 3| is welded or otherwise secured to the edges of the flanges of the channel member l4. Slidable upon the plate Si is a channel member 32 provided with cam slots 33 in its flanges. Secured to the web portion of the channel I4 is a guide cylinder 34 registering with an opening 35 in such web. The guide cylinder 34 is provided with vertical slots 36 adapted to receive the ends of a pin 31 carried by a casket engaging cylinder 38. Attached to the channel 32 is an operating element 39 extending to one end of the element l4 and provided with a hand grip 40.

In operation, the element 40 may be grasped and the element 32 moved to the right as seen in Fig. 9, resulting in elevation of the pin 31 and consequently of the cylinder 38. Since the cylinder 38 is movable to a position above the upper surfaces of the rollers [6 it obviously may engage a casket to prevent motion thereof; If desired, the cam slot 33 may have such inclination that it will remain locked until a disengaging force is applied through the element 39.

In practice I prefer to use one placer constructed as shown in Fig. 6 or as shown in Figs. '7 to 11 or provided with some equivalent braking means adapted to engage the roller or the casket itself and to use two placers not provided with any braking means or equivalent, although it is to be understood that any desirable number of placers may be used and one or more thereof may be provided with brakes or the like.

While I have shown and described the present preferred embodiment of my invention, I wish it understood that I am not limited to the details of the disclosure but only in accordance with the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is:

1. In combination with a casket lowering apparatus having longitudinal elements adapted to extend alongside an open grave, a series of transverse supports adapted to rest on said longitudinal elements to support a casket, said transverse supports being provided with anti-friction means on their upper surfaces, and notches on their lower sides adapted to position them with respect to said longitudinal elements, said notches being elongated whereby to adapt the device for use with lowering devices having the longitudinal elements differently spaced, said notches being provided with deformable cushioning means adapted for engagement with said longitudinal elements.

2. In combination with a casket lowering apparatus having longitudinal elements adapted to extend alongside an open grave, a series of transverse supports adapted to rest on said longitudinal elements to support a casket, said transverse supports being provided with anti-friction means on their upper surfaces, and notches on their lower sides adapted to position them with respect to said longitudinal elements, said notches being elongated whereby to adapt the device for use with lowering devices having the longitudinallelements differently spaced, said notches being provided with deformable cushioning means adapted for engagement with said longitudinal supports, said transverse elements comprising channel bars opening downwardly and said antifrictionmeans comprising rollers supported by and projecting above the web portion of said channel :bars.

3. In a device of the class described, as a subcombination, acasket placer comprising a bar having; elongated notches on one surface and rollers rotatably mounted on the other surface, said rollers being placed between said notches and said notches being lined with deformable material.

4. In a device of the class described, as a subcombination, a casket placer comprising a bar having notches on one surface and rollers rotatably mounted on the other surface, said rollers being placed between said notches and said notches being lined withdeformable material,

said bar being channel shaped and having said notches formed in the flanges thereof and said rollers mounted partly in the channel and extending through openings in the web of the channel bar.

5. In the combinationrecited in claim 4, braking means mounted on said bar and movable upwardly thereabove to engage a casket resting on said rollers, and means accessible from an end of said bar for operating said braking means.

6. In combination with a casket lowering apparatus having longitudinal elements adapted to extend alongside .an open grave, a series of transverse supports adapted to rest on said longitudinal elements to support a casket, said transverse supports being provided with antifriction means on their upper surfaces, and notches on their lower sides adapted to position them with respect to said longitudinal elements, said'transverse supports comprising channel bars opening downwardly and said anti-friction means comprising rollers supported by and projecting above the web portion of said channel bars, and means associated with said channel bars for preventing motion of a casket resting thereon transversely of the axes of said rollers.

'7. In combination with a casket lowering apparatus having longitudinal elements adapted to extend alongside an open grave, a series of transverse supports adapted to rest on said longitudinal elements to support a casket, said transverse supports being provided with anti-friction means on their upper surfaces, and notches on their lower sides adapted to position them with respect 'to'said longitudinal elements, said transverse supports comprising channel bars opening downwardly and said anti-friction means comprising rollers supported by and projecting above the web portion of said channel bars, movable means adapted to prevent rotation of one or more of said rollers, and means for operating said last'means'to and from a position to lock said roller or rollers against rotation.

' JAMES R. BRADY. 

